1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a trophy mount for displaying horns, antlers, and the like, in a life-like, three-dimensionsal fashion which has numerous advantages including realistic appearance, ease of assembly and mounting, and modest cost. More particularly, it is concerned with a trophy mount which includes a simulated skull structure configured to resemble the upper portion of the head of the animal involved (such as a deer, antelope, elk, etc.), with the skull structure having bores drilled therein corresponding to the actual location of the horns for an animal in the wild. The horns or antlers are removed from the animal at the joinder thereof to the head, and a hole is then axially drilled into the joinder end of each horn. The mounting of the horns to the simulated skull structure is completed by gluing a dowel into each hole in the simulated skull structure, sliding the corresponding hole in each horn or antler over the associated dowel, and gluing the antler in place such that the antlers are spaced apart in a life-like manner.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many ruminant animals, whether domesticated or wild, have horns, antlers, or the like, which can be attractive when mounted for display. Particularly attractive is the rack (antlers, horns or the like) taken from a game animal by a hunter. The most common method of mounting such a rack is to employ a taxidermist to mount the rack in a life-like manner, but this method involves long delays in mounting the rack and is often very expensive. Alternatively, trophy mounts have been proposed wherein the skull structure of the animal between the horns is excised from the head along with the horns in one piece, and the skull piece then attached to a plaque for display. Although this method saves the expense of employing a taxidermist, it is deficient in that the rack is not displayed in a life-like manner, and the process of excising the skull piece from the head often involves extraordinary skill. A patent illustrating this type of trophy mount is U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,922.